


In The Eye of a Hurricane There is Quiet

by FrozenInFlight



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Dezel the Less Terrible Seraph, Fifty percent less death au, Gen, Lets be fair it involves Lafarga you know what spoilers this involves, Pendrago Visit Three Spoilers, Zaveid the Terrible Dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2017-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 14:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6055420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenInFlight/pseuds/FrozenInFlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or two wind seraph having a fight, you never know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sometime it's a verbal and physical fight

“Oi, kid.” Rough hands catch his shoulders, and he knows no one else can see the newcomer - the scent and shape the wind shared were all wrong for any of the Windriders - because the exhausted mercenaries don’t so much as twitch. The other seraph’s voice is.. familiar. He can't place it, the wind sharing long hair, no shirt, and a hand rapidly coming toward his face.

“What th-!” He doesn’t jerk away in time, catching fingers against his face, and the other wind seraph snags his coat and hauls him up the tiny difference in their heights.

“The hell are you thinking! You’re a  _ seraph _ , you should know better!” The older seraph shakes him violently, low voice losing the edge of a drawl in anger. “There is no way in hell you can not know what happens when you let something consume you!”

“That  _ thing _ killed him, the rest of them! I can’t just let her stay alive for what she did-” Dezel snaps back, hands finding wrists and the belts on them, trying to force the other man to let go.

“And didn't Lafarga die protecting them? So  _ when  _ you go hellion, who’ll take care of them then? Oh, wait, they’ll all be dead!” Dezel stops fighting, staring at the other seraph’s face. “I don’t care about anything but my revenge, boo hooo-” He continues, voice growing mocking. “Yeah, and when you don’t care about anything but revenge, you’re going to lose everything.  _ Dragons _ don’t remember what seraphim find important.” With a shove, the seraph releases him and Dezel barely manages to catch himself, ending up on his ass in the dirt. The human on watch nearest them twitches, looking about, but .. seraph squabbles aren’t easily noticed by humans. 

He’s back on his feet quickly enough. “The hell am I supposed to do then?! Let it be-”

“Why do you think I’m saying that? Your eyes quit on you because you got so much shit between your ears that nothing above your mouth works?” He can  _ hear _ the smirk, the words drawled just enough that every word was still clear, each a little pinching needle that got under his skin nearly perfectly.

And so Dezel lashes out, his own hand open to catch the other seraph in the face. The slap connects, the shirtless seraph moving one foot back to stay put. 

“That’s it, that’s it!” A grin spreads across his face, words once again clear and draw-free, and somehow that... was familiar too. Dezel didn’t know him! He snarls his frustration, slapped back into focus then shoved again. “You’re not going to do any good thinking while angry, let it out!”

The wind rushes with the older seraph, and Dezel is barely able to keep his footing by pulling his winds to support him as he’s slammed with an elbow. He raises his arms and brings both elbows down, and while he found shoulder, he also found - 

“Fucking  _ beads _ !” Tingling fire races down his arms, and the instinctive flinch works against him. While he had knocked the other seraph down a little, it was becoming clear that this asshole was used to fighting. 

Dezel just wished it wasn't clear that he was used to fighting because Dezel found himself gasping for air on the ground, his left side a wall of pain from something he didn't quite remember. Right side, that was the elbow, and apparently landing, as he rolls to brace himself with his forearms to try breathing that way.

His wind helpfully informs him that the other seraph was standing where Dezel had been, and he was putting his foot back down. That had been a  _ kick _ ?

"Oops, my bad~!" His voice was really, at best, maybe a quarter sorry, back to the drawling tones of.. mockery, was really the only thing Dezel could pin it down as. The older seraph almost saunters over, rolling his shoulders a little. "I forgot you're practically a baby." Dezel grits his teeth as the bastard  _ keeps talking _ . "You ready to listen and  _ think _ yet, Dez~el?" 

Yeah, no, he was moving  _ now _ , to hell with waiting. How the fuck did this guy know his name? Why did he say it like  _ that _ ? He puts his weight on his forearms, swinging his legs at the other seraph.

"A~pparently not." Dezel grunts in reply to that, because he realized as the other seraph landed on him, that knocking into the back of someone's legs usually makes them sit. "I can work with this."

Dezel growls properly as the other seraph shifts, and pretty much lays on him like he was a bench.

"Now that you're a captive audience." Dezel didn't snap his head backward, because that would hurt him just as much, but damn if he didn't want to. "I'm just gunna keep talking at you until you give me a proper response." And as if he knew Dezels consideration of banging their heads together, he scoots himself so his head wasn't in range.

"That felt so wrong." Dezel grumbles, because what the hell did that guy have on him? Something hard was digging into his back, and he knew the guy was facing up.

"Yeah, well, tough shit. Deal with it. You don't get wiggle room 'till y've earned it." And then the ass just crosses his arms behind his head and resumed his take-up-the-bed sprawl. 

"'Cause revenge is great and all, but thinking of it as 'gotta get revenge'?" The drawl vanished, and for some reason that made Dezel actually listen. Why did tone changes mean anything to him, he didn't  _ know _ this guy! "There's not gunna be anything left of you, before or after ya get it. Not to mention all of  _ how _ is gunna be a mess."

"... And?" Dezel grinds it out.

"Oho, a civil word." His tone flips back to cheery and then right back to serious flat. "What do you want out of revenge. What will killing do? Besides the obvious gratification of killing someone you think needs it, obviously."

"She  _ does _ need it, for killing Lafarga." Dezel snaps, but given how comfy the other seraph had gotten, he .. made himself think. Okay, flipping himself to get the guy off him probably would just.. end up with Dezel on the ground hurting again so that was out.  "... I can't let her hurt the rest of them. The Windriders." That thought lead to another. If he went hunting with them, and brought them with him to kill her, she could get at them while he was still getting her.. "I'll do it alone, won't involve the humans."

"That's a good start, but wrong answer." Why were all the pitch changes so familiar! The older seraph's voice deepens at the end, as if indicating that Dezel had failed a test in some dramatic way. "Going alone is still a good way to fall to malevolence, just more like. Mmmm Tasty young seraph, says mister boar hellion." Some exaggerated chewing noises follow, and made the point pretty clear. "Not to mention, if you want them safe, but  _ you _ go running off." He shrugs with one arm moving to indicate the camp near them. 

Dezel grimaced. They hadn't noticed the fight, they wouldn't notice anything else on the seraphim-hellion side of things that went wrong. Well, actually.. "The girl - Rose. She can see us sometimes. I could talk to her, she can get a Shepherd whenever there's another of those." It would give Rose a shot at revenge too - Brad had been killed after all, and she'd been close to him. "A Shepherd would attract a hellion that strong, easy."

"And a Shepherd would have a chance at surviving a fight with a hellion, unlike you." There was a pretty obvious lack of himself in that statement, but it wasn't like the other seraph had been particularly forthcoming with personal details - not that Dezel had asked for any. "A great start."

"And if the Shepherd takes me on as Sub Lord, I still get a direct hand in it." Because letting someone else completely take over his revenge? As if. Although, thinking on that for Rose as well. "... Hey. Shepherds and Squires - is that something that meaninglessly floats on the wind?" The guy certainly acted old enough to remember any Shepherds being around.

"I haven't paid attention to the doings of Shepherds in centuries." The seraph sprawled on him yawns it, his tone a little.. off, in a way he hadn't heard yet. But a little more relevant was that the guy was getting up. "Yeah, it's something like a Sub-Lord on the human side. There's no point in it, if the Squire-to-be doesn't have resonance of their own, 'cause the resonance to do so is gunna come from somewhere." He stood and stretches, rubbing his back, and so Dezel rolls away and sits up. Not in danger of getting sat on again, and not going to make a move to pick a fight again either.

That wasn't much information, but it did sound like it was possible for both him  _ and _ Rose to get in on the Pure Train to Revenge. "... Would being a vessel raise someone's resonance?"

The older seraph remained silent for a moment longer, rubbing at his chin. "... Probably. If just hanging around seraphim increases it, then hosting one would definitely. Once the initial fever and shit is done with."

So it would work. If she agreed to it, they could make this work. Another thought came to mind, and he mulled over not asking at all for a moment. "... Hey. What's your name." It still came out a little closer to a demand.

"Zaveid." There was something odd to his smile there, but Dezel was trying to figure out that annoying familiarity again. No luck.

"Zaveid, then. How did you know him?" Zaveid paused in his back rubbing, then rolls his shoulders once.

"We used to hang once in awhile. We'd cross paths, hang out for a bit, and move on. My other bud's would always joke he'd seem like the older one." It was pretty clear that Zaveid was saying he was like this almost all the time, which meant that all that maturity and dignity of a teenager. A teenager that knew how to completely wreck someone, but a teenager. "Traveled together a bit, but he liked his mercenaries, so not nearly as long as some other buddies of mine."

There's an itch somewhere again, like what Zaveid was saying should be really familiar, but he can't scratch it so he shrugs it off. "... Yeah. Sounds like him. S'why he's not here, he cared for them that much." He's focused on not actually crying, when he registers that Zaveid has crossed back over to him, and had started ruffling his hair.

"I'd keep remembering that, when you plan this whole thing out." His voice is low and quiet for once, and Dezel has the strangest feeling Zaveid is talking about something else. "It hurts to get left behind." But the older seraph is done messing with his hair before Dezel grumbles and does more than raise a hand to swat at him, starting to walk off.

Dezel sits there for a moment, before getting up to find where his hat had gone off to, the wind letting him know that Zaveid had raised his hand in a farewell wave before windstepping off.

Well, he had the beginning of a plan now. And bruising up each side, but the plan was the more important part.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hop skip tiny chapter this time-

"Yo, Dezzie." That officially made two people who could sneak up on him, as Zaveid dropped an arm over Dezel's shoulder and leaned. Dezel groaned, shrugging him off and turning away. "How're things goin?" Zaveid completely ignored any discomfort he had created.

"We're inspecting the new Shepherd." Dezel states, tilting his head slightly toward Ladylake. "Making sure he's actually decent before we get his help."

"Heard about that. Lady Lailah got herself a Shepherd." The other seraph was still uncomfortably familiar with his drawls and the animated quality to it. "Probably a cool one. She's been doing this for years." 

Zaveid stepped off to the side, crossing his arms behind his head. He was wearing something in the back of his pants, a hard shape with a handle-

"Why are you here, Zaveid the hellion-hunter?" Dezel asks, as the other wind seraph seemed to forget he was there. Time to test what he'd heard of the man from other seraphim. 

"Just that, of course." Dezel almost wished he hadn't, the grin on Zaveid's face was particularly toothy, and honestly made him a little uncomfortable with his oh-so-happy tone. And he was the one with pointed teeth. "I'd wait for any jobs of yours to come off the Spiritcrest." Zaveid continued, with an instant tone change, sounding calm and serious in a way that still didn't match his expression. 

"Why?"

"Oh, asking questions now? Have I steered ya wrong yet?" Okay, that was infuriating. How could the guy change so quickly, back to a lively tease. "It's gunna get pretty nasty up there. Just take ol'Zaveid's word for it that humans shouldn't get mixed up in it." And despite the words, he was serious again. "No one should get mixed up in it, really, but that's the point of being there on purpose rather than being in the crossfire." And like that, Zaveid spun and moved to further up the path. "Later~"

"H-hey!" No, the older wind seraph had slipped away in the breeze, and there wasn't any point in trying to get a straight answer out of him when he was jumping between moods like that, something told him.

Why did he feel like he knew that? "Tch.."

"That was… another seraph." And here was the other person who could sneak up on him, Rose staring up the way Zaveid had vanished with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah. He's kinda a huge pain." That felt like an understatement. A really big understatement.

Rose hummed, thinking and looking to the side. "... He a friend of yours? I think I remember seeing him before. At least I think I saw some half-naked guy before."

"Rose. I didn't need to know you'd seen a half-dressed man before." His deadpan was rewarded with a fist to the shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor edit to the first chapter, just trying to keep myself consistent with caps. 
> 
> Another short one, but it felt like a natural stop for between the events, so. /jazz hands

"Damn… I thought we got the warmongers." Rose had seen the smoke and .. something, of the battlefield, and gone to doublecheck that there hadn't just been a wildfire. Okay, so wildfire was a bit of a hopeful wish over anything else. But something was definitely making it a bit harder to breathe up here.

"Can't get them if they don't show their colors." Once in awhile it struck Rose as funny that she, of all people, was talking with a seraph. Granted, rather than a local god that gave blessings, Dezel did seem to be the sort that you wouldn't want to come across in an alley, with those teeth and his weapon of choice involving a good length of sturdy wire. Then again, that's probably what made him a great partner for an assassin.

"... True." Whatever she was going to follow that thought with died as she saw.. something. It looked like an explosion of the non-firey sort - debris flying into the air like when a particularly large rock would hit.

Except the armies were actually in their face fighting each other now. Neither side was so ready to risk their own to use catapults now.

"... Shit. Hyland got the Shepherd involved." Dezel adjusted his hat, facing the direction of the raining debris as another of those odd blasts went off.

"Really?" The trembling of the earth and some sort of booming reached her then, and honestly - "The Shepherd can do things like this?"

"He's got an earth seraph." And honestly, that was all he needed to say. Rose had seen the new bridge - that had been the earth powers used for construction.

".. Well, destroying is easier than creating.." Rose sighs, and pulls her hood up. "I'll need to reevaluate him after this. Just to make sure using his powers on an army didn't mess with him that badly."

"... Be careful. This goes on too long, we're going to get full on hellions."

* * *

Why the Shepherd acted like he couldn't see his constant entourage of seraphim was less important than the malevolent soldiers crowding the boy. Given the strength of the domain-

"Dezel." He nods, and Rose can no longer see him.

Actually, Rose realized as she sank a knife into the soldier currently trying to crush the Shepherd,  **malevolent** wasn't the word for it. 

These were hellions, as she jumped back from the collapsing body, she saw not soldiers but monstrous cats and lizards in the armor of two countries.

"Damn it? Why now!" She'd only been able to see hellions from the corner of her eye before - glimpses of things not quite right. Maybe she'd been too good at shutting them out - she had a stage of just hearing and faintly seeing Dezel before he'd become clear, after all.

_ "Shepherd's down-" _

"-Augh!" While Dezel didn't say anything after that, it was creepy enough hearing his voice inside her head that she missed what he actually said for a moment. But a quick look behind proved that yes, actually, the Shepherd was on the ground. Not on the ground in a pool of blood, which was a plus, but still on the ground.

"I'm an  **assassin** !" Rose protests, making use of those skills to trip up the hellion-soldiers on their way after her so she could pick up the unconscious boy. "I'm not supposed to be doing this rescue business!" She heaves the boy over her shoulders, and starts running.

_ "You're still good at i- Rose!" _ It was so creepy to hear that! But something shifted just a tad - she realized she'd curled a little in her jump without thinking on it, and before she had time to actually think on it, pain.

Way too much pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics is going to be used as Seraphim Talking But Not The Normal Way now. Feel free to point it out if I flub and forget, but trying not to use one text effect for multiple things because it makes more sense in my head.
> 
> I don't even know if seraphim can talk in the heads of people they aren't in a pact with, but it wouldn't surprise me if Dezel and Rose had stumbled across Poor Man's Pact or something on accident, given that Rose is nearly at Sorey's level of resonance on her own (or.. not on her own, entirely, in canon. Ugh Dezel that was creepy-)
> 
> .. and yes I am implying an alternate use for pendulums.


	4. Chapter 4

Dezel ejected himself from Rose the moment he realized what he'd done. He only had a second to panic - there was only **some** blood, which was okay, could be better - could be worse, but her mask was elsewhere.

Oh, and they were still falling. That now included him outside of Rose, which was another second's panic for a moment - did the domain extend to down here? 

Good, it didn't. Just the normal passive amount of malevolence that came from no blessing and being outside a city.

"At least her grip is still good-" This was going to be hard, without it being two bodies falling separately.

"Hey. Dezel, right?" There was a flicker of light and the Shepherd's water seraph was falling alongside him. Them. Ugh. "I can make landing in the river easier on them, but at this speed-"

"I'll handle slowing down."

The boy didn't reply to that, just nodded and summoned his staff. Boy might have been more accurate than he knew, because a water seraph and a earth weapon?

Things he should not be focusing on - that. The river is fast approaching and he can't have Rose going splat.

Dezel flung his wind into an updraft, bending breezes into something that would catch them all and at least slow their descent. The water seraph yelped, and sounded like he flips over due to the wind, but doesn't slow his artes. Which was good - even with the winds, Rose and the Shepherd, not to mention the water seraph, were going to hit the surface soon. 

The splashes were oddly muted, and it wasn't just the distance - the wind had slowed him more than it had the others. Dezel returned to Rose then immediately left, now right next to the humans with his own splash.

Much easier than fishing for them. Dezel caught Rose under the arms, and it sounded like the water seraph had understood his plan and grabbed his Shepherd. They hauled the human pair to the shore, then set to using their elements to drying as best they could. Obviously the water seraph was better at it, but he also had more water to deal with. 

"Alright…" The boy sighed, and there were two more flickers of light. The Shepherd's other seraphs - just fire and earth. 

He'd feel relieved if he wasn't more worried about Rose. 

"Well, 'his' domain doesn't extend down here…" The fire seraph sounded like she was mostly thinking out loud. "So Sorey ought to start recovering…"

"If our new assassin friends don't do anything." The earth seraph managed to sound bored out of her mind and very pointed at the same time. 

Dezel snorted. "He done anything to deserve not waking up?" And, well, that was the end of that conversation. 

".. There are hellions about. The creature ones, so I'm going to drive them off." The water seraph stands abruptly, an hour into watching sleeping humans. The earth seraph hummed, then also stands and walks off to join him in this, leaving the prime lord and Dezel with the Shepherd and Rose.

This, of course, meant the Shepherd would stir not long after. Worry climbed - Rose was far more used to fighting, why did the boy recover first? None of them had used healing artes, so it wasn't an indication of one getting the more powerful ones.

And even as the fire seraph cheered his name, bringing the water back quickly and the earth far more slowly, the boy didn't react.

He did, however, notice the footsteps in the brush, crouching as Dezel turned to read the wind. 

"Footsteps." Dezel announced, about the same time as the Shepherd muttered "Someone's coming." And, well. That was one way to judge his intentions a little further.

Rather than getting out of the way himself, the boy knelt, turned, and started to pull Rose onto his back. Dezel grit his teeth but set to follow their slow progress.

Okay, good point for the boy - he didn't leave a supposedly unconscious person out in the woods. Supposedly because he caught Rose opening her eyes. On the other hand… 

"We .. could help them?" The water seraph offered.

"It would.. be unfortunately obvious if we did.." The fire seraph said, clearly turning the suggestion down.

"Aaand they're being followed." Dezel half groaned it. He'd have liked to take Rose off the kid, but.. a floating person would be too alarming.

"Definitely not time to be making a scene, then.." So they were left.. slowly trailing after the pair.

* * *

 

Rose did wake, and Dezel was hoping this would be the end of the whole carrying nonsense. But no, she asked an important question - why - accepted the answer, then proceeded to pretend to be bait on him. 

Well, at least she also noticed they were being followed. Her muttered directions were going to take them straight to their current base, though.

Then again, that made sense. Rose hadn't reacted to seeing the other seraphim standing around Sorey, but she had practice pretending she couldn't see Dezel around others. The Shepherd's seraphim seemed to be taking the approach of can't interfere if he isn't aware of us, so if the boy did turn out to be a threat in the next.. however long it took him to recover, more of the Scattered Bones would be good to have around.

* * *

 

Except when it all falls apart because the boy thinks they just kill as they feel like it. And that not all of his abilities were lost when he lost his ability to see or hear the seraph - Dezel swore under his breath, 'stepping over to Rose's side as the wind told him that.. the Shepherd just cleared that giant stump outside their base. Cleared the stump  **and** Felice and Rosh. Talfryn must have let his guard down, to let the boy go so easily.

* * *

 

Well, that sorted itself out pretty easily. The Shepherd nerded a little over his meeting with Mayvin, but settled into exploring what little of their ruin base as was available. Rose watched him, Dezel once more by her side. The Shepherd's seraphim tailed him like..

"It's like watching a mamma duck and her babies." Rose laughed a little, watching the three follow him. Since the other seraphim were all the way over there, Dezel shifted a little uncomfortably and turned away from the greater hall. Technically he shouldn't be in the woman's room of the base, but he was chatting with Rose, and she always made sure to let him know if anyone actually wanted to use the room. Blind or not, visible or not, that was sort of only funny to not mention once.

"Listen. Rose, about back there…" Dezel paused, frowned, and try to put the words together. "I.. think I took your body for a second." It.. might have come out a bit fast.

"Huh?" Rose blinked, confused and .. actually looking serious for once.

"When you jumped the cliff, one of the soldiers threw a lance. I panicked, and .. made you move." He debated stopping the wind about her. "So you've probably got a little bit of a headache instead of.. a spear in your head. Which- It doesn't mean taking your body is any better-" Ugh, now he was fumbling.

His worst case scenario involved a fist. It did not, however, involve a fist to the side, which is what he got. Dezel twitched away, turning back towards her in surprise.

"Stop acting like I'm going to shank you for saving me." Rose pointedly dug her knuckles into his side. "You're beating yourself up over it enough that I know you really didn't mean anything by it. So it's fine! You didn't hurt anything, you saved me. Just don't, y'know, do it again." She paused. ".. Unless I'm in situation where I need being saved like that, that'd be okay. Just.. no habits of it, okay? Hearing you in my head is freaky enough, no.. making me sleepwalk and eating veggies in the middle of the night or anything."

… Where did that come from- Dezel smiled a little awkwardly, still thrown for a loop by that last leap in logic. "Got it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until I find more seraphim details translated from that world guidance book, I'm assuming their elemental attunements come with some oddities to them. Simple sort of things - wind seraphim are lighter than they ought to be for their build and probably have a weird thing going on with body temperature - a step closer to human average than the room is (so if room temperature is cold, they're a little warmer than that, but if room temperature is hot, they're a little cooler). Earth seraphim are heavier (and their temperature is remarkably steady. Fire Trial might see a difference). Fire seraphim are hotter to the touch than a human ought to be, and it's quick changes if they change in temperature at all. Water seraphim are cooler, and slow changes for temperature. 
> 
> Also THERE WE GO. The thing that skeeved me out the most about Dezel, solved. I may have made a large complaint on tumblr about it, but basically, massive amounts of rage aside, Dezel really creeped me out about his whole uncaring bodysnatching in canon. Short recap - it makes him seem less like he cares about Rose's safety because she's a person he cares about, and more like he cares because she's a thing he can use. And it seems like "well, i'm saving her by doing this, so who cares that i am taking her body from her", and that.. screams of creepy consent problems. I'm not saying it's rape, but i'm saying it's not hard for parallels to be made to rape, and it kinda.. ruined canon!Dezel to me. He's a cool character, he clearly had room to - could and did a little! - grow, but.. /canon.
> 
> .. That may or may not be why I made this au. Dezel, be a little healthier.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorey wandered until he looked at everything he could, then went off to the room a Sparrowfeather had indicated he could sleep in, and basically collapsed on his face. His seraphim did the same - the water seraph had looked like he wanted to peer into the 'women's room', but Dezel was leaning against the doorway and he thought better of it.

So the three sat around the bed, while Rose and Dezel considered options across the hall.

"He's still on the 'yeah, we could work together' list." Rose said.

"He needs to get his resonance back before he is actually an option." Dezel nodded at where the water seraph had started complaining about the Shepherd's recklessness, clearly not expecting to be heard by his sleeping.. friend. The pair had been traveling before the human had even become the Shepherd, so they had to be friends.

"Yeah… I don't want to have to wait for another to show up." Rose sighed. "We're lucky this one did, right? Mayvin said that Celestial Record book had the last Shepherd at two hundred years ago. I  **really** don't want to try waiting for another one." Felice was the only one nearby and awake enough to give Rose a quick glance for chatting with the air. The core members of the Sparrowfeathers and the Scattered Bones had gotten used to it - chatting was much better than screaming about ghosts after all - and accepted that their boss could see seraphim. It was mostly kept quiet from the rest - particularly with how some of the just Scattered Bones were. It helped that Dezel could tell who was around and was pretty good about not trying to hold conversations with others about.

"We can keep an eye on him until he gets his resonance back. Then hang around to see what they think about us joining." Dezel tipped his head toward the room again, where more voices - and perhaps most importantly Sorey's - had started attracting Sparrowfeathers. "Let them make the offer."

"Right." Rose nodded, and followed Eguille to the doorway of the other room.

She saw the gathered seraphim - a little girl with a parasol, a woman with long hair, and the water seraph boy who had been with him when they entered Ladylake. With Dezel as a visual guide, that made the woman with the off-white hair a fire seraph, and the girl an earth.

It was also pretty informative, listening to them. Domains could clash? Good to know that either she didn't generate one, or she'd been far enough from this 'lion-headed man, Heldalf' that he hadn't done the same to her. Dragons were real? Well, shit. And a Lord of Calamity was worse? But, well, his fire seraph friend pointed them out, and she shifted, crossing her arms and dropping the lower hand in the sign they'd come up with for 'Dezel is about'. Only-

"You talking to yourself?" Rose asked, doing her best to keep the smile off her face. She saw Felice get it a moment later - the Shepherd had his seraphim about. Which Sorey then babbled at them - no, his friends are here, they're seraphim!

" **He** 's like a puppy." Dezel muttered, and it was clear that due to her doing her best to keep a straight face, the Shepherd didn't think she could see his seraphim friends. So he crossed the room, and with a rather oblivious air, took one of her hands in his. Then .. shut his eyes and held his breath? The tremble wasn't hard to fake - she was trying to stop laughing at this poor kid, as the fire seraph leaned closer and spoke like she wasn't sure she'd be heard. By this point, the others were also fighting laughter - they knew she could see them, and thus they knew that she was pretending not to.

Then the small girl moved-

"We're ghoooosts-"

Rose flinched, flinging Sorey's hand away from her and batting at her neck while spinning. 

"Eeauugh, don't breathe down someone's neck like that!" While the Shepherd stood a little confused, the core of the Scattered Bones behind Rose started laughing.

"... Eh? How did-" He looked between Rose and the parasol girl seraph, then over at Dezel when the wind seraph stepped into the room to lean against the wall there.

"I can see and hear seraphim just fine." Rose explained, making a little face at the smaller girl.

"... Oh!" His face went from somewhat worried to the cheerful smile she had seen when he was talking to his seraphim friends, as he looked between Dezel and Rose. "That's why Dezel has been hanging around with assassins!"

"Not entirely." Dezel put in at the same time as Rose shrugged and said "Sure."

"Well, that was entertaining." Rosh straightened, turning away to leave the room.

"You can explore some more if you like." Eguille added. "Just stay in the ruins."

"Just let us know if you need something!" Talfryn called cheerfully over his shoulder, leaving with his twin and the other two.

"You could try figuring out how to actually get into the ruins proper, if you like." Rose added, remembering what the Councillors had tried to bribe the boy with. "If you do, I wouldn't mind tagging along." 

Sorey tilted his head, reminding her of Dezel's description a moment ago. "Not sure about me yet?"

"Nope! But getting closer." Rose agreed, turning to wait by the doorway they couldn't budge. She'd be able to catch them there. 

She wasn't surprised to see Sorey immediately turn to try to talk to Dezel, while his water seraph friend went straight for the door with her, a parting comment of "Bet you can't solve it before I can" thrown over his shoulder. Sorey was evidently done with the conversation with Dezel, because the Shepherd darted over to join his friend by the door for a moment, then raced off with an excited look on his face.

"That thing he does, where he uses the seraphim's powers? It's called 'armatus'." Dezel stopped against the wall next to her. "It's something to do with both him and a seraph's power, so while it's strong, we'd have to get a pact going to be able to use it."

"Huh. Explains why Rolance is so terrified of him." Then again, she'd seen the bodies fly too. If that was  **earth** , what would wind be able to do? "So we win them over, get them to make the offer, tell 'em what we'd like to get done, hope they don't change their mind?"

"Something like that." Dezel grunted, and then tilted his head toward the door.

Sorey came racing back, and pushed on the smaller circle on the round door, and the whole thing moved, sliding until there was an open semicircle.

Sorey blinked as she turned to walk beside him in, then turned to face her.

"Rose, there's going to be creatures in here that humans call monsters." He started, but she waved him off.

"Like those soldiers turning into lizard things? Hellions, right?" The last Rose directed at Dezel, who once again just made a throat noise of agreement.

"It'll be dangerous!" Sorey insisted.

"And I'll be fine! You've seen what I can do!" And so Rose continued walking, hearing Dezel start just after she did.

"Maybe focus on keeping yourselves safe." Dezel added.

Rose was vaguely aware of the Shepherd and his friends talking, and slowly making their way in. More importantly, however-

"Oooh, a lever. What do you think it does?" Rose walked up and inspected it.

"Probably something with a door, somewhere." Dezel didn't lean for it, because that would be useless.

"... neat." Rose pulled it. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

"You do realize Rolance is going to be looking for the Shepherd in a panic, right?" There was a flicker of light, and Dezel's words continued outside of Sorey and Rose's heads. "The sort of panic of 'oh, seraphim, please don't let him come this way'." The wind seraph stopped and turned, arms crossed, more or less right in Sorey's path, effectively halting their progress. He also tilted his head in the understandable irony in what he just said. Like the seraphim were going to actually stop a Shepherd for reasons like that.

"Huh? Oh, right-" Sorey sheepishly rubbed at his head, as the other seraphim exited.

"You did knock your way through half their army." Mikleo pointed out. "They'll probably remember that for a while."

"So unless you want to be attacked by every guard in Lastonbell, and every woman and child to run screaming at the sight of you," Rose grinned at his expression. Because this was Sorey, that was the last thing he wanted. "We're gunna give you a new look."

  
  


"Next. You there, are you this young woman's guard?" Sorey managed to stop following Rose, making it look like he'd just stepped forward because he was in line.

"Oh. Yeah, she's my partner." Sorey agreed. Dezel groaned something he barely caught, and the flicker of motion from the corner of his eye looked like he was hiding his face with that hat of his. Edna did jab him in the side right after he got that out, though, so he took that as a cue to not say anything else unguided.

Rose turned to face Sergei as well. "Yup! We travel together."

"Then why a staff? Those are little good for the perils faced on the road." Sergei continued. Mikleo huffed behind him, but Sorey just smiled a little and Rose picked up talking. He saw that umbrella there, Edna.

"It's better for business-" Rose continued.

"I'm asking your guard here." Sergei interrupted, a little more firmly than he'd spoken thus far, but still rather politely.

"Repeat what I say." Dezel stepped up, and Sorey faithfully parroted the seraph's words.

"It is better for business. We usually have more guards, for longer trips between towns. But we were close enough, it was just me today." Edna moved his hand toward the staff, and Mikleo nudged her out of the way, to hold his arm better while he hefted it. He was never so glad to meet someone with no resonance. "And really, I'm mostly the guard for inside towns. Makes the job easier for the guards, because if someone tries stealing, I can just break a hand-" Sorey realized what Dezel was having him say, and stopped there.

"We Sparrowfeathers do have our reputation to keep!" Rose chimed in without a pause, while Lailah cried " **Dezel!** " And the wind seraph turned away, pulling his hat down his face again.

"And we're not selling anything today, so we really shouldn't need more than just me." Mikleo told Sorey, and he repeated it, slinging the staff again.

Sergei had shut his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, there was a smile on his face. "You two must care deeply for each other, to travel so often alone." Wait, what? "Please, continue nurturing that bond so that all hardships life may throw at you are as easily dealt with. Live, and be strong!"

As the knight turned fully toward the gate, Mikleo tugged on Sorey's arm, and Rose stepped over and took Sorey's hand to pull him along.

They made it to the base of the slope before Sorey felt safe talking. "Uh. Rose? Did he think we were in a relationship?"

"Yup. Good going there, we don't exactly look like we're related, which is usually how it goes for the Sparrowfeathers." Rose crossed her arms behind her head as they made their way up the main street. 

"If ...if you say so." 

 

Of course, they weren't actually there for any liquor stores, so off to the sanctuary they went. Not to any surprise, there wasn't a seraph in there - the merchant in line before them had mentioned strange things happening in town.

"So, while you focus on taking down a lord of calamity, the rest of us will pay attention to when you're being tailed. Like right now." Dezel said, turning toward the door a little.

Sorey's soft 'uh' was lost under Sergei's voice.

"Who are you talking to? The stained glass?" And there was the platinum knight, hand on his sword sheath, standing just in the door. "Didn't you have urgent business at the restaurant on main street? What was it's name again..." 

"Boris's Canteen? Yeah, but we can look at the church during the rush, can't we?" Although Rose said that easily, Sorey had a slight sinking feeling about the way the knight said that.

Even if the man dropped his hand from his weapon as he replied. "There's no restaurant by that name."

"Well shit." Dezel sounded faintly impressed, even as he dropped a pendulum from his hand. "He had us from the start."

"Have fun with your human friend, Sorey." Edna turned pointedly and sat on one of the benches in the church.

 

"I shall apologize for deceiving you." Sergei announced, and that must have actually been it, because he drew his blade. "And then, you will tell me who you really are!" 

It definitely was a good thing that Rose had stayed inside with the seraphim. Sorey only had watching Mikleo to go off for how to use a staff, and unfortunately that meant some things just didn't work.

"Ah- moment-" No, that wouldn't work. Sorey smiled sheepishly as Sergei didn't even pause, an eyebrow raised after a staff flick that - if Mikleo had done it - would have resulted in a spray of icy water from under the knight. So Sorey backed off closer to the door. "Mikleo!" And threw the staff. Sergei didn't so much as pause as go deliberately slower in approaching. The knight did actually halt, jaw dropping a little, as Mikleo partially exited, dropping Sorey's sword and sheath to his waiting hand, and caught the staff on the way down.

"Show off." Mikleo muttered, exiting fully and entering the church.

"This explains much. I had thought your stance was not one of a staff wielder." Sergei recovered, but fortunately took long enough that Sorey could jam his sheath back where it belonged and draw the sword.

  
  


"... I can't believe that worked as well as it did." Mikleo mumbled, as Sorey returned from his shower, already half dressed and pulling his cloak out for the morning.

" **I** can't believe he still thinks we're dating." Sorey sighed, sitting on a bed.

"It's what lots of humans think about a guy and girl partnership." Rose explained, doublechecking the edge on her dagger. "And I told you, it's in our favor. We'd be getting even weirder looks otherwise."

"But no one ever thought that about me and Mikleo... " Sorey mumbled.

Rose stared at him for a moment. "Sorey. A lot of people can't see Mikleo."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An addition to my elemental thoughts.  
> Light Seraphim feel, to the touch, like that moment when you realize you are getting sunburnt - that kind of heat on your skin. Lightning feel more or less like a human, but you get them interested and suddenly it spikes to hotter than a fire. Dark/Shadow feel like that particular kind of cold that comes from a spot of shade on a sunny day.

**Author's Note:**

> Otherwise known as "the one AU I am really invested in because Canon Dezel creeps me out."
> 
> And not at all because I am a sucker for Zaveid Attempting To Help
> 
> I had help from a wonderful Endless, and great Kira on Dezel, and Fight / Beta help from a Viliandre, who I happen to share a couch with.
> 
> I'll make a thing of Zaveid-view things later. And other things


End file.
